Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 96?
War cabinet discusses Qatari proposal for Gaza • IDF takes over key south Gaza village • Gantz: Gaza Strip 'effectively' free of Hamas rule
Starlink service expected to be turned on in Gaza this week - Bloomberg
The satellite internet service also agreed not to grant access to humanitarian organizations inside Gaza without the approval of Israel’s defense establishment.
Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service is expected to be turned on this week in the Gaza Strip, according to a Sunday report from Bloomberg citing a communications ministry official.
However, the service cannot be turned on in the region without Israel's approval, but the report says that Israel will give its go-ahead fairly soon.
The satellite internet service also agreed not to grant access to humanitarian organizations inside Gaza without the approval of Israel’s defense establishment.
Enhancing the South and the North
The Bloomberg report also states that Israel wants to use Musk's space manufacturing company to enhance its southern and northern border sides of the country during the ongoing war with Hamas. However, Israeli officials were reportedly concerned when Musk suggested offering the service in Gaza last November.
The report cited an Israeli official saying that the government had fast-tracked plans for the Starlink license.
Furthermore, the satellite internet service opened a subsidiary in Israel and in the coming weeks, the company will be able to sell its terminals.
Go to the full article >>IDF combat medic Elkana Neulander killed in battle in Gaza
"Elkana was a man full of joy in life, a dedicated medic, very active, professional, and full of compassion."
Sergeant-Major (res.) Elkana Neulander, a 24-year-old combat medic from the Bazaq 99 formation headquarters from Efrat, was killed in battle in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Magen David Adom's spokesperson's unit released a statement to the press regarding his service as an MDA volunteer and character.
"Elkana was a dedicated and professional medic who started his career at MDA in 2015, and since then, has volunteered at the Jerusalem MDA station together with his father, Avery Neulander," the MDA statement said. "During his years at MDA, he treated and saved many lives."
"A man full of joy in life"
Eli Gartner, head of volunteers at the Jerusalem MDA station, said, "Elkana was a man full of joy in life, a dedicated medic, very active, professional, and full of compassion. He was an integral part of the Jerusalem MDA station. He was an amazing friend beyond explanation. We will miss him very much."
MDA CEO Eli Bin commented about the fallen soldier, saying, "Elkana was a professional and dedicated MDA volunteer who gave personal attention to each of his patients. Magen David Adom bows its head and hugs his father, MDA volunteer Avri Neulander, his mother Nava, and his sisters and brothers. May his memory be blessed."
Go to the full article >>Mothers of soldiers protest US interference in IDF efforts as Blinken arrives in Tel Aviv
The Mothers of Combat Soldiers Foundation demonstrated against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's criticism of Israel and the IDF.
Mothers of IDF soldiers in Gaza demonstrated as United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv for the fourth time since the Israel-Hamas War began. Demonstrators called on the US government not to stop Israel from fighting, not to stop arming Israel, and not to tie the hands of the IDF.
The Mothers of Combat Soldiers Foundation, which led the demonstration, unfurled huge signs with pictures of the children of senior US government and military officials dressed in IDF uniforms on the battlefield under the title: “Let our children fight as you would let your children fight.”
The posters feature photoshopped images of President Biden's children, Ashley and Hunter, as well as the son of the US Army Chief of Staff Grant George and the son of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown. The four are depicted wearing IDF uniforms and ostensibly part of the fighting in Gaza.
"If your children were in the war in Gaza today, you would not supply the enemy with gas and supplies. You would not put your child at risk in a dangerous ground mission," the demonstrating mothers said in protest.
US demands Israel ease their offensive
The US has pushed Israel to move to a less intensive, more targeted stage of the war, and has recently suggested that Palestinians displaced to the south of the Gaza Strip be allowed back to the northern part. “Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow,” Blinken said at a press conference with Qatari officials in Doha on Sunday.
“Every time Blinken comes, he brings more and more demands that endanger our soldiers,” Mothers of Combat Soldiers spokesperson Mirit Hoffman, who has a son and a son-in-law fighting in Gaza, told JNS. “It’s a total double standard. The demands that the US administration put on our soldiers go far beyond what America practiced after 9/11, or Pearl Harbor.”
The group says the demands the Biden administration places on IDF soldiers puts them at risk, whereas Hamas terrorists disguise themselves as civilians to carry out attacks.
"The lives of our soldiers come before the lives of the enemy. We demand from the US government – do not stop the fighting for us. Let our soldiers fight, win, and restore security to all the residents of the State of Israel. We ask you to love our children as we love your children, and that their lives will be as important to you as your children's lives are important to us," The Mothers of Combat Soldiers declared at the demonstration.
The Mothers of Combat Soldiers has hundreds of mothers of warriors participating in the campaign in Gaza. The headquarters calls on the Israeli government not to stop the war in Gaza until the destruction of Hamas and the return of the abductees under the slogan: “The lives of our soldiers come before the lives of the enemy.”
Go to the full article >>Elon Musk says it was a 'tough call' to ban Hamas's X account
The CEO of X engaged in a public Twitter thread with controversial user Jackson Hinkle regarding the ban.
Elon Musk said on Tuesday that banning the Hamas terror organization's X account was a "tough call."
Musk then explained the reasoning behind the ban, stating that "while many government leaders, including in the USA, do call for killing people, we have a 'UN exemption rule'; if a government is recognized by the UN, we will not suspend their accounts.
"Hamas is not recognized as a government by the UN, so was suspended."
This was a tough call.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 9, 2024
While many government leaders, including in the USA, do call for killing people, we have a “UN exemption rule”; if a government is recognized by the UN, we will not suspend their accounts.
Hamas is not recognized as a government by the UN, so was…
This was in response to controversial X user Jackson Hinkle, who gained a mass following throughout the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and is known for his extreme anti-Israel posts. He had asked the social media platform's CEO "Why was Hamas’ X Account BANNED if the ISRAELI TERRORISTS are allowed to keep theirs?"
After Musk's response, Hinkle responded by saying he understood the rule Musk explained but said he doesn't understand "why it's only being applied to PALESTINIAN accounts," to which he shared screenshots of pro-Israel users that endorsed Israel using extreme force in Gaza.
Musk: "Suspensions should be even-handed"
Musk then responded by saying that "suspensions should be even-handed. We are also very reluctant to have permanent suspensions, so people should expect a series of temporary suspensions that become longer, rather than instant permanent suspensions." Hinkle disagreed and believed that it was a good policy to not permanently suspend accounts, and then asked if that were the case with Hamas's account "@qassam2024."
Hinkle's reasoning to ask such a question is because "The UN does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization & they actually won Gaza’s last Parliamentary elections in 2006."
Musk said that Hamas still is "not recognized as leaders of a country by the UN," and still broke X's policy because they called for the extinction of Israel "unlike Iran, which does the same," but previously said that Iran isn't banned because of its recognition in the UN.
Hinkle said that the rule "isn't being upheld fairly," claiming that "pro-Israeli accounts with similar genocidal rhetoric only receive temporary suspensions — or no suspension at all," and that the unfairness comes from Hamas's account being permanently suspended.
Go to the full article >>Nine Syrian soldiers killed by explosive device in central Syria - Syria Defense Ministry
A Syrian military bus carrying soldiers was hit by an explosive device in the desert near the old city of Palmyra in the Homs province on Tuesday night, killing nine people and wounding 13 others, the Syrian Defense Ministry said.
This is a developing story.
Go to the full article >>Israel won't transfer 'even one shekel' to PA, Smotrich tells Blinken
Blinken arrived in Israel for the fourth time since the onset of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, where he spoke regarding the current state of the war from the US perspective.
Israeli Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel will not transfer any funds to the Palestinian Authority (PA) during Blinken's visit to Israel on Tuesday.
"We will not transfer a shekel to the Palestinian Authority that will go to the families of the Nazis in Gaza and we will work to allow the opening of the gates of Gaza for the voluntary immigration of refugees as the international community did for the refugees from Syria and Ukraine," Smotrich said in his remarks to Blinken.
"We greatly appreciate US support for Israel, but when it comes to our existence in our country, we will always act according to the Israeli interest. Therefore, we will continue to fight with all our might to destroy Hamas," he declared.
Blinken calls for Palestinian statehood, transfer of funds to PA
On Tuesday, Blinken arrived in Israel for the fourth time since the onset of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, where he spoke regarding the current state of the war from the US perspective.
“In today’s meetings, I was crystal clear that Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. They must not be pressed to leave Gaza," Blinken said during Tuesday's remarks in Tel Aviv.
“As I told the Prime Minister, the US unequivocally rejects any proposals advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza. The Prime Minister reaffirmed to me today that this is not the policy of Israel’s government,” he said.
He called on Israel to transfer to the PA all the tax revenue it collects on their behalf. Israel has deducted from that revenue the sums equal to the amount that the PA spends on monthly stipends to terrorists and their families.
Moving forward, Blinken said, “Israel must be a partner to Palestinian leaders who are willing to lead their people in living side by side in peace with Israel as neighbors."
Blinken's comments come several days after Smotrich accused two million Palestinians living in Gaza of having a "desire to slaughter, rape, and murder Jews," while defending the displacement of Palestinians against US backlash.
The finance minister, one of the senior figures in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, had on December 31st called for Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the besieged enclave, making way for Israelis who could "make the desert bloom."
“Let’s think out of the box,” urged Smotrich, “If in Gaza there will be 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs and not 2 million, the entire conversation on ‘the day after’ will look different,” he said.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
Go to the full article >>Hezbollah denies Israel's claim for killing senior Hezbollah commander
Israel said it killed the southern Lebanon commander of Hezbollah's aerial unit in an air strike on Tuesday, hours after it said he led an attack on an army headquarters base in northern Israel.
Hezbollah later denied those claims, saying "the commander was never subjected to any assassination attempt as the enemy claimed," in a statement on Tuesday.
Israeli military chief spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Ali Hussein Barji had led dozens of drone attacks on Israel, as Israel and Hezbollah have been waging their deadliest hostilities in 17 years.
Go to the full article >>Rabbis protest at United Nations asking for ceasefire in Gaza
Tuesday's protesters at the United Nations carried banners that read "Biden: the world says ceasefire" and "Biden: Stop vetoing peace."
About three dozen rabbis and rabbinical students from US organizations on Tuesday protested at the United Nations, urging a ceasefire in Gaza and asking US President Joe Biden's administration to allow such resolutions to pass instead of vetoing them in the Security Council.
The protests were organized by US Jewish groups including Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, and Rabbis for Ceasefire. Social media posts by the groups said 36 rabbis were at the demonstration inside the UN Security Council Chamber.
The Huffington Post reported that the rabbis gained access to the building as part of a guided tour.
The UN has demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza amid the huge death toll from the war. Washington has vetoed resolutions for such calls in the Security Council, saying it would let Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which governs Gaza, regroup and rebuild.
Backing an immediate ceasefire
More than three-quarters of the 193-member UN General Assembly backed a move to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire last month.
Tuesday's protesters at the United Nations carried banners that read "Biden: the world says ceasefire" and "Biden: Stop vetoing peace."
Ceasefire protests have been seen recently in many parts of the US, ranging from near airports and bridges in New York City and Los Angeles to vigils outside the White House and marches in Washington near the US Capitol.
On Monday, demonstrators demanding a ceasefire in Gaza interrupted a speech by Biden in a church in South Carolina. The president said he had urged Israel to reduce its attacks and "significantly get out of Gaza."
Jewish groups in the US have been divided over Israel's response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt has labeled groups demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, such as Jewish Voice for Peace, as "hate groups" that do not represent the Jewish community.
Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, about 1% of the 2.3 million population there, according to Gaza's health ministry. Israeli bombardments have flattened much of the densely populated enclave, leaving Gazans homeless, with food shortages threatening famine.
Go to the full article >>Blinken: Palestinian statehood critical to Saudi-Israeli normalization
Blinken arrived for what is his fourth regional visit in the last three months
Palestinian statehood must be part of Israeli normalization efforts in the region, including with Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, after he had visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.
Normalization is not a “substitute for” and can not come at the “expense of a political horizon for the Palestinians and ultimately a Palestinian state,” Blinken said.
“On the contrary, that piece has to be a part of any integration efforts or any normalization efforts,” he explained, adding that this was made very clear to him “in my conversations on this trip including in Saudi Arabia.”
Blinken's continued visits to the Middle East
Blinken arrived for what is his fourth regional visit in the last three months – since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, at a critical time as Israel enters what it has termed a third phase of its military campaign to destroy Hamas, which will involve lower intensity action that is more targeted.
During the first leg of his two-day visit, Blinken met with families of the 136 hostages held in Gaza, and some of those captives who have been released.
“For them, every hour, every minute that they are separated from their loved ones is an eternity,” he said, as pledged that the US was continuing to work to free the captives.
“Time feels different for families in Gaza as well, hundreds of thousands of whom are experiencing food insecurity,” Blinken said as he spoke of the importance of increasing humanitarian assistance.
“More food, more medicine, and essential goods must get into Gaza, and get more effectively” to the people in Gaza, he said.
Time also feels different for Israelis and Palestinians whose loved ones have been killed in the last months, he said.
“Those are just an example of how heavy these 95 days have felt and continue to feel to the people most affected by the conflict,” Blinken said.
The United States stands with Israel as it works to ensure that an attack like October 7 never happens again, Blinken said. He noted that the war could have been prevented if Hamas had not attacked Israel or if it had immediately surrendered and released the hostages it seized.
On Tuesday Blinken met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Minister Benny Gantz, and President Isaac Herzog. He also discussed with the war cabinet.
What were Blinken's other key points?
Among his key points were the importance of reducing Palestinian casualties, a deconfliction mechanism to improve aid distribution, and creating a mechanism to allow displaced Palestinians to return home, starting with northern Gaza.
A mechanism was created by which the United Nations would carry out an assessment mission to evaluate the steps needed for Palestinians to return home.
“This won’t happen overnight, but the mission will start a process,” he said.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes as a result of the war and are now mostly concentrated in the southern part of the enclave.
Blinken also clarified that the US strongly objected to any plans to forcibly or voluntarily relocate Palestinians from the enclave. Both Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have spoken in the last weeks about relocating Palestinians.
“In today’s meetings, I was crystal clear that Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. They must not be pressed to leave Gaza.
“As I told the Prime Minister, the US unequivocally rejects any proposals advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza. The Prime Minister reaffirmed to me today that this is not the policy of Israel’s government,” he said.
He called on Israel to transfer to the PA all the tax revenue it collects on their behalf. Israel has deducted from that revenue the sums equal to the amount that the PA spends on monthly stipends to terrorists and their families.
Moving forward, Blinken said, “Israel must be a partner to Palestinian leaders who are willing to lead their people in living side by side in peace with Israel as neighbors.
“Israel must stop taking steps that undercut the Palestinians’ ability to govern themselves effectively. Extremist settler violence carried out with impunity, settlement expansion, demotions, evictions, all make it harder not easier for Israel to achieve lasting peace and security,” Blinken stressed.
“The PA also has a responsibility to reform itself and to improve its governance,” Blinken said, adding that he plans to discuss this with PA President Mahmoud Abbas when he meets with him in Ramallah on Tuesday.
“If Israel wants its Arab neighbors to make the tough decisions necessary to help ensure its lasting security, Israeli leaders will have to make hard decisions themselves,” Blinken explained.
He stressed that Palestinian statehood was critical to any movement forward once the Gaza war was over. Concurrent to Blinken’s conversations, Arab leaders have also been meeting.
Jordan’s King Abdullah will hold a summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday to discuss the “serious developments” in the Gaza Strip, the Jordanian state news agency reported on Tuesday.
Blinken also spoke of the importance of a diplomatic resolution to the cross-border violence between Israel and Hezbollah.
“Escalation is in no one’s interest” and there are countries in this region using their influence to make sure that this does not happen.
Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati told a senior United Nations official on Tuesday that his country was ready for talks on long-term stability on its southern border with Israel.
Mikati's office said in a statement he met UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix in Beirut to reiterate "Lebanon's readiness to enter negotiations to achieve a long-term process of stability in southern Lebanon" along the border with Israel.
"We seek permanent stability and call for a lasting peaceful solution - but in return, we receive warnings through international envoys about a war on Lebanon," Mikati said.
"The position I repeat to these delegates is: Do you support the idea of destruction? Is what is happening in Gaza acceptable?”
In Tel Aviv on Tuesday night, Blinken also spoke of the importance of halting Houthi attacks on global shipping and of attacks against US forces by other Iranian proxies, specifically in Iraq.
“We are determined that we not see escalation, but if our forces are threatened or attacked we will take appropriate steps, we will protect them.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
US, UK forces shoot down Houthi missiles, drones in Red Sea
UKMTO and Ambrey also received reports of Red Sea incidents near Yemen's Hodeidah.
US and UK forces shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by Yemen-based Houthis on Tuesday into the Southern Red Sea towards international shipping lanes, the US military's Central Command said.
US Central Command said there were no injuries or damage reported, adding that this was the 26th Houthi attack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since November 19.
Reports of other Red Sea incidents
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization and British maritime security firm Ambrey on Tuesday received reports of incidents in the Red Sea near Yemen.
UKMTO received a report of an incident approximately 50 nautical miles (93 km) west of Yemen's Hodeidah, which authorities were investigating, it said in an advisory note.
Ambrey received reports of suspicious activity from two merchant vessels southwest of Yemen's Mokha, though no damage was reported.
A tanker either saw flares or missile trails, while a bulk carrier detected three small vessels approximately 1 mile in the direction of their port quarter, Ambrey said in an advisory note.
The bulk carrier reported seeing two missiles fired from the direction of the boats and one unmanned aerial vehicle flying ahead of the vessel, Ambrey added.
"Ambrey assessed this event was separate from an event that was reported west of Hodeidah around the same time," it said.
Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi militants, who control much of Yemen, have launched wave after wave of exploding drones and missiles at commercial vessels since Nov. 19, in what they say is a protest against Israel's military operations in Gaza.
Ansarullah, a Houthi group, targeted a vessel in the Red Sea, a Yemeni military source told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.
The Houthi campaign has been extraordinarily disruptive to international shipping, causing some companies to suspend transits through the Red Sea and instead take the much longer, costlier journey around Africa.
The Houthis have vowed to continue attacks until Israel halts the conflict in Gaza, and warned that it would attack US warships if the militia group itself was targeted.
US Central Command said 18 drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile were shot down by US and British forces.
Go to the full article >>Israel-Hamas War: What you need to know
- Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, with thousands of terrorists infiltrating from the Gaza border and taking some 240 hostages into Gaza
- Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, including over 350 in the Re'im music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities